Phobias – Questions by Topic Q1. Briefly outline how flooding might be used to treat a phobia. (Total 2 marks) Q2. (a) Outline a behavioural explanation of phobias. (2) (b) Briefly discuss one limitation of the behavioural explanation of phobias that you have outlined in your answer to part (a). (3) (Total 5 marks) Q3. Explain one weakness of systematic de-sensitisation. (Total 2 marks) Q4. Read the item and then answer the question that follows. Tommy is six years old and has a phobia about birds. His mother is worried because he now refuses to go outside. She says, ‘Tommy used to love playing in the garden and going to the park to play football with his friends, but he is spending more and more time watching TV and on the computer’. (a) A psychologist has suggested treating Tommy’s fear of birds using systematic desensitisation. Explain how this procedure could be used to help Tommy overcome his phobia. (4) (b) Explain why systematic desensitisation might be more ethical than using flooding to treat Tommy’s phobia. (2) (Total 6 marks) Q5. Read the item and then answer the question that follows. Kirsty is in her twenties and has had a phobia of balloons since one burst near her face when she was a little girl. Loud noises such as ‘banging’ and ‘popping’ cause Kirsty extreme anxiety, and she avoids situations such as birthday parties and weddings, where there might be balloons. AQA Psychology A-level PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com 1